Post by caspday on Sept 13, 2012 3:29:48 GMT -5
Chelsea could have found themselves heading to Tre Penne from San Authentic Lions Jerseyszyhaa913 Marino. Barcelona could have taken target practice against Sheriff from Moldova. As it happens, these teams were squeezed out over the summer. The balance now is decent enough. There remains some inequality by the time we reach the 32-team group stage, but there is still room for some surprise teams to be successful, too, very vividly demonstrated by Apoel's miracle run last season. Long may that kind of opportunity continue.
Michel Platini has not been afraid of tinkering withOfficial Lions Jerseys qualification regulations where the Champions League is concerned. It is time he took on the challenge of amending the swollen schedule in international football. Would it be so difficult to aim for a group stage of eight groups of four (the same as the Champions League), in which the top three were the highest ranked teams, and the final team in each group could come from a pre-qualifying stage? Mind you, given that they have enlarged the European Championship to an ungainly 24 teams, it might not be worth getting our hopes up for a bit of common sense.
At the top level, the very best players are overburdened Matthew Stafford Jerseyswith the number of matches, and the amount of travelling, expected of them. Is it really that surprising that most players, if they were able to speak truthfully about it, would struggle for enthusiasm for the slog of qualifying? Low-key matches in far-flung destinations are often seen as a bit of a nuisance. Outside the 90 minutes, it is not a lot of fun. Hands up who looks forward to the journey, some light training.
killing time in a hotel lobby, and a late flight home to arriveCalvin Johnson Jerseys bleary eyed in the early hours of the morning after? Don't expect a massive show of hands from the elite.Even though they came home with a respectable win, England's players are not really allowed to say that they could have done without that yomp to Chisinau.It is hard to take much, other than satisfaction at a professional job well executed, from such a mismatch as that in the Zimbru stadium last Friday.
England may have been impressive as Ndamukong Suh Jerseysan attacking unit, with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tom Cleverley excelling, but the standard of opposition was nondescript at best. Dismal at worst. The most troubling aspect is that Moldova are not even the worst ranked side in Group H, with San Marino – in 206th, joint last with Bhutan, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands – still to come. Which makes one wonder whether a better system might indeed involve a pre-qualifying round ahead of the qualifiers, as in the Champions League. Dominic Fifield